Bjoern Werner has declared for the draft. I know a lot of guys in here are high on him.

January 3rd, 2013, 10:17 pm

kdsberman

League MVP

Joined: February 20th, 2007, 10:51 pmPosts: 3485Location: Saginaw, MI

Re: Declaring time

inheritedlionsfan wrote:

Bjoern Werner has declared for the draft. I know a lot of guys in here are high on him.

Best 4-3 DE in the draft I feel.

January 4th, 2013, 9:59 am

sweetd20

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: October 13th, 2005, 9:03 amPosts: 2489

Re: Declaring time

Been following him and Jenkins (hit with the injury bug) the last couple seasons. Besides his obvious talent on the field everything I've read and watched about him says he a sponge in meetings and the film room. He definitely has the look of a player worthy of the #5 pick. I'm not sure if he will still be on the board by #5 but if he is and they stay put I think it's going to come down to him and Jarvis Jones if one or both are still available at #5. I really like Werner but Jones looks like an absolute difference maker at the LB position, the type of player teams have to scheme for because he can do it all.

January 4th, 2013, 11:01 am

DJ-B

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: April 5th, 2007, 5:51 pmPosts: 2563

Re: Declaring time

I like both of those and feel the same way. Jones a little more explosive, Werner more technically sound and well rounded. Curious if we took Jones would it be as a DE or LB?

January 4th, 2013, 2:26 pm

kdsberman

League MVP

Joined: February 20th, 2007, 10:51 pmPosts: 3485Location: Saginaw, MI

Re: Declaring time

DJ-B wrote:

I like both of those and feel the same way. Jones a little more explosive, Werner more technically sound and well rounded. Curious if we took Jones would it be as a DE or LB?

I would hope LB. Last thing we need is an undersized DE.

January 4th, 2013, 2:31 pm

DJ-B

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: April 5th, 2007, 5:51 pmPosts: 2563

Re: Declaring time

I Agree. I Could see Jones at WLB, but then letting him lose alot as a Blitzer (which we know gun loves to do) but also knowing he has the talent to cover if needed.

Stanford tight ends Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo combined for 93 catches and 10 touchdowns for a Cardinal team that went 12-2 with a 20-14 win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

Now both will be headed to the NFL.

According to Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News, both Ertz and Toilolo have elected to forego their senior seasons and enter the NFL Draft.

Ertz was a finalist for the Mackey award given to the best tight end in the country. Notre Dame senior tight end Tyler Eifert won the award over Ertz and Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Ertz caught 69 passes for 898 yards and six touchdowns for Stanford this season. For his career, Ertz caught 112 passes for 1,431 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Toilolo served as a redzone threat for Stanford with his 6-foot-8 frame. He caught 24 passes for 393 yards and four touchdowns this season for the Cardinal. For his career, Toilolo caught 50 passes for 763 yards and 10 touchdowns.

He’ll end up being one of the biggest names in this year’s NFL Draft, but he’s already one of the best names.

LSU’s Barkevious Mingo has declared he’ll leave school a year early to enter the draft, according to Randy Rosetta of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pound defensive end figures to be a first-round pick.

He’s the sixth LSU player to leave school early for the draft, and more are possible. Fellow highly touted defensive end Sam Montgomery is expected to join him, along with Kevin Minter, Eric Reid, Tharold Simon, Spencer Ware and Brad Wing.

Mingo finished the season with 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, numbers which don’t jump off the page. But with another bookend on the other side in Montgomery, it was harder for him to pile up individual stats.

Mingo first came to our attention as the winner of the 2009 Name of the Year tournament, but he has since become more than a curiousity, and will have a chance to make a name for himself in the NFL as a guy with great pass-rush ability.

Those teams near the top of the selection order in the 2013 NFL draft in need of offensive line help got a big boost when it was announced that Texas A&M left tackle Luke Joeckel will make himself eligible for the upcoming draft. The 6-foot-6, 310-pound Joeckel is NFLDraftScout's number-one draft prospect, and may very well be the best player in the draft when all is said and done. Without a marquee quarterback this year as there was in 2012 with Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, Joeckel has a chance of hearing his name called with the first pick, which is currently owned by the Kansas City Chiefs.

“I love my teammates and we have such a great team coming back,” Joeckel said earlier this month about his potential decision. “It'd just be so hard to leave College Station and leave my friends. We have a lot back, too. We do lose [defensive end] Damontre [Moore] and we have senior linebackers, but we think we have some guys that will step up. “It's just a rough decision both ways. There are so many pros and cons. It's going to take a lot of time and a lot of prayer.”

Joeckel has the kind of excellent pass-blocking technique that made USC's Matt Kalil attractive as the highest-picked offensive lineman in 2012 (selected fourth overall by the Minnesota Vikings), but he's also a bit nastier in the run game. As the primary protector for two mobile quarterbacks in Ryan Tannehill and Johnny Manziel, Joeckel is also asked to run-block with authority and sustain blocks longer than some other left tackles, and he does these things with great authority.

Coming out of a low stance, Joeckel establishes leverage on potential pass-rushers, and his best and most consistent trait might be his ability to set the edge on running plays. He's very good at re-establishing position after taking a first blow from a defender, and he'll often keep his blocks going past the normal expiration point. Joeckel is physical and forceful when firing out to run-block, and he has the lateral agility to pin inside and take out a defensive tackle. He would work well in a zone system, as he has the second-level quickness to get upfield and deal with linebackers. He'll also get mobile in a big hurry to block on screen passes.

The 2012 Outland Trophy winner was the pointman in an offense that was dynamic enough to allow Manziel to become the first freshman ever to win the Heisman Trophy. Texas A&M right tackle Jake Matthews, the son of NFL Hall-of-Famer Bruce Matthews, is considered to be perhaps the best at his position in college football.

Lewan is making his announcement today at 6pm. I hope he stays (mainly because I don't think he's ready for the NFL, and he very well could end up being our pick, and I think that'd be a mistake on both parts).

January 9th, 2013, 4:12 pm

kdsberman

League MVP

Joined: February 20th, 2007, 10:51 pmPosts: 3485Location: Saginaw, MI

Re: Declaring time

wjb21ndtown wrote:

Lewan is making his announcement today at 6pm. I hope he stays (mainly because I don't think he's ready for the NFL, and he very well could end up being our pick, and I think that'd be a mistake on both parts).

Agree.

January 9th, 2013, 4:50 pm

conversion02

RIP Killer

Joined: January 26th, 2005, 9:34 pmPosts: 10773Location: Sycamore, IL

Re: Declaring time

He's staying per the mlive report

______________________Fire everyone; clean house!

January 9th, 2013, 8:16 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Declaring time

conversion02 wrote:

He's staying per the mlive report

I kno... Talked to him and Jake Ryan at the basketball game about 10 min ago...

January 9th, 2013, 8:58 pm

Boz

All State

Joined: September 28th, 2011, 5:57 pmPosts: 338

Re: Declaring time

Name dropper!!! j/k bud.

January 10th, 2013, 5:48 am

wjb21ndtown

Re: Declaring time

Boz wrote:

Name dropper!!! j/k bud.

Ha.. Nah, not really. It was an awesome game. I posted that from my seats. He was about 10 feet from me and I had just got done talking with him after I posted my comment. For whatever reason there were a ton of ppl at Crisler last night (Taylor Lewan, Jake Ryan, Jimmy King (former fab 5 player... he may have a kid on the team now, I know G. Robinson III looked good last night!), Rick Snyder and some more. It was pretty sweet seeing Crisler jumping again like it use to. Crowd was in it right until the end.

I did want to razz Taylor about needing to work on his facemaking (called and uncalled), and holding at the Outback Bowl, but I just told him he made an awesome decision, that you can't buy back your college years, and he'll get paid next year.

In any event... Back on topic, I'm glad we won't be reaching for the 2nd best LT in the draft, cause he's going to be the best LT in next year's draft! Go Blue!!!

Doesn't look like we're going to have an opportunity to land Joekel, he's largely regarded as the best prospect on the board. I'd love to trade down, but I don't see it happening. Once again, we're right behind the "sweet spot" of talent, unless somehow the #1 Qb or something falls that far, but I don't see it. My biggest hope is, if we DO draft a DE, that he really is the best DE in the draft, and WORTH the #5 pick, and not one good guy in a pool that ends up getting outplayed by a guy drafted 15-35 picks later.

I don't think there is a CB worth the #5, or a safety. Trade back and grab one would be my preference at this point.